The Road Ahead
by Crystaleyed
Summary: His single heart beat only for her, but life is not all plain sailing in a parallel world... Formerly called 'The Rocky Road to Happiness' Set Post Journey's End.
1. Abandoned

**Hullo,  
I won't go on too much, but this is set at the end of Journey's End (Episode 13, Series 4) so don't read on if you haven't watched that episode yet. I know this plot has been done many times before but this is my take on it and I hope it makes for enjoyable reading :). **

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_There they stood._

Alone and confused, two broken souls on a beach in Norway, the bitter emotions and horrible memories mingling with the salty air and the breath of the three people, standing in the soggy land. What were they meant to do?  
Pick up the pieces and be thankful?  
Start a new life together when it was all too clear that nothing would ever be the same again?  
It sounded and felt so wrong, but they all held onto hope, by the skin of their fingernails. Only time would tell if the doctor had meant what he'd said.

_She_

looked towards a spot on the beach, where the TARDIS, everything she had dreamt of and worked so hard to achieve, was slipping through her fingers, like sand.  
_He didn't even say goodbye  
_She was so close and she cursed herself for letting him slip away once more. He had left her, left her back here, where he assumed she belonged. She was furious with him and with the world, how could he decide where she belonged, she was twenty five surely it was her choice. Tears pricked at her eyes but she refused to cry, she was stronger than that now. She almost laughed to think that before all this she thought the ground beneath her feet was solid, that she could pop into the TARIDS, if she was quick enough she could jump, just make it as he pulled her into his arms and the familiar warmth and comfort of that great ship.

No. This was her life now.

_He._

He would have broken down the walls of time and made whole constellations walk the streets of London, astonishing the naked eye, just to see her radiant smile one last time. He shook his head, he knew as well as anyone on that beach, there was only one man who could ever make her happy and it certainly wasn't him.  
He closed his eyes for a mere second, remembering nothing but the passion and warmth of that kiss, the first and only true happiness he had ever experienced in his short and brief existence. When he opened his eyes his hand was reaching out to her. He needed her and he prayed, as he took her hand in his, that she needed him too. In that one second he offered her everything,  
His hand,  
His heart,  
His soul.  
She held his hand, no longer aware of anything but the gap in the beach, where the TARDIS had stood. She looked into her eyes, a dreamlike haze clouding over her and behind her almost beautiful and captivating gaze he saw the pain, the pain he longed more than anything else to take away, almost brining a tear to his eyes.

_Why am I not in the TARDIS?_ She asked him, without saying a word,  
_Why am I here with you and not with the Doctor?  
Did he ever love me? He never said.  
Was I just lead on like a stupid little girl?_

The questions span around Rose's head until her head was pounding, nothing was simple anymore, nothing was comfortable and nothing was easy anymore. Even the sight of someone, identical in every way but one, to a man she loved and adored burned her eyes. She turned and walked away, almost running towards her mother, in fear of the man on the beach.

He stood at the end of the beach, watching her run away and although he would never admit it, watching her walk away was the scariest thing he would ever be forced to endure. It was an image that would haunt him for many nights to come. He held onto hope, since it was all he really had left as the rain began to pour. The memories of his days after the time war came flooding over him and a sense of defeat overwhelmed him as he looked across the beach towards Rose and Jackie, who was waiting for him across the soggy sea.  
_How did he stand a chance against the doctor, the sainted physician, the mighty warrior, nothing less than a modest superhero ?  
_He walked towards Jackie, appearing calm and collected, but screaming in agony somewhere deep in his soul.  
"She just needs time" Jackie reassured him as they walked up the beach together "Stick with her, she'll come to you in the end"  
He smiled and wearily agreed, out of politeness, but he knew, looking at Rose that she would never change.  
_She deserves better than second best._

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**Hope You Enjoy. **


	2. Nightmares Before Bedtime

**Hello again,  
Thank you so much for all your reviews ... I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think.**

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He was running, running through the vast expanse of darkness.  
A moment of lost concentration on the invisible path and he was falling, falling down a mountain side catching only the briefest sight of the familiar red grass as he tumbled to the ground.  
He was lying, on his back in a field of roses, her voice that beautiful voice echoing in his ears the words were nothing more than an afterthought to him.  
_Follow me  
__Always  
_He stumbled to his feet and ran towards her, desperate for a face, desperate to be loved. The hunger for that beautiful feeling he had enjoyed on Gallifrey, with a family he had not only made but destroyed.  
He was falling, falling again and he fell against the cold brick of a cell, the pain crippling him. He shut his eyes against it, hoping it would go away that he could just wake up now and escape.  
He looked up hearing her voice, pleading for her help with his silent voice as she took the doctor's hand and drew him into a passionate kiss, not dissimilar to the one he had shared with her on the beach that day.  
_" Come with me " _the doctor demanded and all he could do was scream her name from his soundless cell as he watched her walk away and listened to the sound of the TARDIS fading into nothing.  
She was gone.

His eyes flew open from the nightmare, a figure stood over him to wake him for the dream but he couldn't bring himself to think of anything, but the effort it was taking to bite into his pillow and contain his scream.

* * *

"_Hey, Hey"_ Jackie cooed to him as she tried to settle his nerves with the glass of water she had managed to fetch from the bathroom _" It's okay, shhh, there there" _she placed her arms around him as he sat up, taking the cup of water from Jackie with a weak and thankful smile. But his eys still darted round the room in fear, terrified that any second now the carpet would be pulled from under his feet, the solid earth, no longer solid, plunging him into the unknown abyss once more.  
_"Are you okay?" _Jackie asked after a comfortable silence had settled between them, the only sound in the empty air was Rose's gentle breathing.  
_" Yeah" _he replied, the colour returning to his face as he placed the cup on a table nearby  
_" Too much in my head " _he told her, grimacing as his head began to pound from the after effects of the horrible nightmare _" It's gonna have some ... side effects" _Jackie nodded, although she suspected that his fear and his own insecurity had more to do with his nightmare than his time lord / human biology.  
_" Here if you need me okay? " _she told him, satisfied with his answer. He nodded not knowing what else to say as Jackie tucked herself into bed and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

She found him, standing on the balcony as the sun began to rise, ignoring the stars and watching Rose through the glass of the nearby window.

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**Changed a fair bit, since my last update, but I hope it still works and that you all still like it none the less :).**


	3. Who Is He

**Hello,  
Just want to say sorry for not keeping up to date, there's been a few technical problems with editing my documents on here :(. I'm pleased to say it's now sorted though, so here's the next chapter, as promised.  
**

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The sunlight blinded them as they gathered on the air strip, eagerly waiting for Pete's Zeppelin to touch down and take them home, wherever that was meant to be. Jackie was close to wearing a hole into the concrete floor as the Zeppelin came into land and Rose couldn't contain her laughter at the sight of her. It was the first time they had both smiled since the doctor held her in his arms on the TARDIS.  
The Zeppelin landed and Jackie and Rose walked forward, eager to see their family again, the doctor trailing wearily behind.  
Rose ran into Pete's open arms and wanted to stay there forever, she didn't know what she wanted and she knew she could only postpone a decision for so long.  
A confused man was waiting patiently on her answer.  
Pete thought he saw that same man, no more than a shadow in the darkness. He stepped into the light, smiling upon the happy scene. Pete greeted him with a welcoming smile and offered his hand  
"_Don't worry I know_" he said, as the doctor firmly shook his hand "_I have the papers in my office_" Pete warned him, as he looked at Rose who was trying to work out the man, now talking to her father, a man she was meant to love and have a family with. She didn't even know who he was.  
How could she love a man she didn't even know?  
Could she ever accept the constellation prize?  
"_Unless of course, you two have some catching up to do_" Pete suggested, gesturing to Rose as they both turned to look at one another, a second later the doctor shook his head. Rose was like an open book to him, so easy to understand, it was her decision that was the hardest thing he would ever have to accept.  
"_It's been a mad few days_" he began, looking to Pete and then turning back to Rose "_Think we might both need some time to ourselves_" he smiled weakly at her and Rose felt a sudden pang of guilt as Pete nodded and pointed him towards his office door.  
He wanted her, she had seen it in his eyes, he wanted her so badly. But he was giving her space, giving her time. She grabbed his arm as he passed.  
"_Thank you_"  
it was the least she owed him and the most she felt she could give. For the first time since their kiss she saw his smile reach his eyes, they twinkled like stars in the sky, magical and mystical, revealing whole galaxies that she would never see again.  
"_You're welcome_" he replied before running down the hall after her father.

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Rose stood in her room on the Zeppelin, looking out at the puffy white clouds and deep blue sky that engulfed the Zeppelin as they made their way home.  
What was she meant to do?  
The doctor was still alive, travelling, the last of the lonely time lords.  
How could she be happy when he was once again alone?  
She wondered if he knew, that she knew he was once again alone, she wasn't stupid; Donna couldn't hold that knowledge in her brain, there was no way she'd be able to stay, no matter how much the doctor wanted her to.  
The thought of her doctor alone, broke her heart.  
She heard a knock at the door and hoped to see the small beaming face of her little brother. He seemed to be the only person who she could look at without feeling guilty or end up arguing with. It seemed this new doctor, whoever he now decided to be, was everywhere she went, even if the man himself sat respectfully and anxiously on the sidelines.  
She opened the door to find her mother with a cup of tea and a biscuit on a tray for her  
"_Thought you might want a cuppa_ " Jackie told her as Rose walked her into the room, falling onto the nearby sofa, looking out into the sky.  
"_Thanks mum_" she replied absent mindedly as her mother placed the tray by the coffee table and sat down next to her daughter.  
"_You have a good night?_" mum asked and Rose felt knots in her stomach, she didn't know where this conversation was going, and that worried her.  
"_Not bad_" she shrugged as an awkward silence filled the air.  
"_He adores you y'know_" Jackie eventually said and Rose sighed with frustration.  
Why was her mother always probing her for a decision?  
If he could wait why couldn't she?  
"_Mum, I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions now_" she replied, slamming her mug on the nearby table.  
"_Well make the right one_" her mother warned her as they both stood to face one another  
"_He had a nightmare last night, y'know what it was about? Rose he was losing you and it scared him to within an inch of his life. Doesn't that tell you something? Think about it Rose, what has he got, apart from you, what has he got?_"  
"_I can't do this_" Rose complained, storming out of the room, stamping on the remains of his shattered heart as she passed him in the corridor.

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**Hope to get the next chapter up a bit quicker, although I can't promise anything, what with me still being at school and that.**


	4. Jonathan's Fact File

**Hello,  
Had the idea for this last night, as well as giving some background thought it might be a nice thing to add in. Next chapter will be up as soon as I can get it written and uploaded, I promise.**

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**Fact File on Jonathan.**

**Name **_Jonathan Nobel _

**Age **_38_

**Date of Birth **_18__th April 1971_

**Nationality **_English_

**Parents **_ Donna Foreman (Died in childbirth)_**  
**_ Jack Wilfred Nobel (Suicide, bullet to the head)_

**Other Family Members **_N/A_

**Education **_St Jacob's Primary School_  
_ Greenwich Academy (A* – B on all Exams)_  
_ Glassgow University (Medical Degree)_  
_ St Cedd's College, Cambridge (Honoury Degree)_

**Background **_He lived in a house on the side of a hill in the Lake District with his Father till he was eight, when he was taken out of St Jacob's Primary School and sent to Greenwich Academy Boarding School where he was close friends with Harold Saxon (Soldier, Died in Battle). His Father committed suicide, by shooting himself in the head in 1981._  
_Jonathan stayed at the Academy apart from at Christmas and Summer holidays when he stayed with Harold Saxon and his Mother, Sarah Jane Saxon (Norweigian) and Koschie (Russian), in Sarah Jane's hometown of Bergen in Norway._  
_In 1989 after leaving school with 10 A* - B at GCSE and A*A*AA at A Level he studied for a medical degree at Glassgow University before travelling the world as a volunteer medical assistant in third world countries and war zones. In 1991 he came back to England to study for an honoury degree at St Cedd's College, Cambridge. Afterwards, while working in Norway as a Doctor he met Mickey Smith (Deceased) in 2001 who inspired his interest in Astrology and began working for UNIT in summer of that year. In 2007 he transferred to Torchwood, working as scientific advisor in Norway._  
_It was while in Norway that he met Rose Tyler, a close friend of Mickey Smith and moved to London with her and her Family in 2008._

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**In case anyone's wondering Koschie is actually the Master's Gallifreyan name and derives from Russian Folklore and The Doctor actually studied for a medical degree in Glasgow and an Honoury Degree at Cambridge. Also Bergen is fifty miles from Bad Wolf Bay. All Information courtesy of various Wikipedia pages ..**


	5. Without A Trace

**Hello :),  
This is a bit of a change from the original, but I hope it's good none the less.  
As always enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.**

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**1 WEEK LATER**

Rose was walking out of her father's office as he called her name.  
"_Yes?_" she asked, turning to face him anxiously. She was desperate for some more work, before now the Dimension Cannon had kept her busy but that was in the past now and she found herself unwilling to go back to the mansion but with nothing to do most days of the week.  
"_Let Jonathan know there's a job here if he wants one_" Pete said casually as he returned to some work he'd been doing ,before Rose came in to give him some reports he'd asked for.  
"_He can't work at Torchwood dad, you know he can't_" this took Pete back a little, he wanted to laugh at his daughter's childishness; surely she was old and mature enough to work in the same building as him, even if things weren't going according to plan.  
"_No I don't_" Pete told her defiantly, he was sick of all the awkwardness between them both.  
"_He can't dad, the only job available at the moment is in alien weaponry and I promised the doctor I would make him better_"  
"_How does that relate to this position?_" Pete asked  
"_They have guns_" Rose stated. There was a pause as Pete considered what she had said.  
"_Are you sure that's the real reason? You're not just trying to get out of working with him, are you?_"  
"_No dad_" Rose told him and he waved her off without any further questioning.  
She stormed back up to her department, her thoughts once again on Doctor Jonathan Nobel.

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"_Hello_" Rose called "_I'm home_" but there was nothing but silence to greet her.  
"_Hello?_" she called again, slightly spooked by the silence.  
"_Hello Miss Tyler_" a girl, no older than twenty and rather small and shy hid behind the archway into the kitchen, where she had been cleaning the floor ,before Rose's voice had startled her.  
"_Thank god_" Rose breathed "_thought I was the only one here_" she chuckled as she walked towards the maid.  
"_Where is everyone?_"  
"_Mr and Mrs Tyler are out with Tony as far as I understand_" the maid replied, clearing away her things "_They said they would be back for dinner_"  
"_And Jonathan?_" Rose asked  
"_I can't say_" the woman told her as she turned back to retrieve her things, catching Rose's firm glare as she passed.  
"_I can't say because I don't know, he didn't say_" the young woman said, panic rising in her voice.  
"_He left you this_" she told Rose, handing her a crisp white envelope, her name scrawled onto the paper in his all too familiar handwriting.  
Rose nodded and the woman left soon after.

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Pete and Jackie came home that evening to hear screaming from their daughter's bedroom. Jackie ran as fast as her heels would allow and found her daughter clutching her head with Jonathan's old jacket on her lap.  
_He's gone _she screamed _He's gone._

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**:O.**


	6. Identity

**Hello.  
I know it's been a while and I'm sorry (I'm not going to give you one of those ridiculously long explanations as to why I've not been writing lately, I know you're not bothered about the reason). You may have noticed this chapter and the ones after it have changed a bit, I just felt that the story needed more depth and a tiny plot change later on. Hope you like the changes, let me know what you think.**

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The duffle bag landed on the wooden floor with a muffled thud.  
The keys jangled and the door locked tight, Jonathan stood in the flat he now called home. It was nothing like the elegant and extravagant mansion he had just come from, but he was greatful for something he could finally call his own.  
No attatchments.  
No dependence.  
He was his own person, or at least he was trying to be. There was something about that that was quite liberating. He walked over to his room, once again dropping the bag at his feet and throwing himself onto the crisp white sheets of his bed. He looked up to the ceiling and shut his eyes to the thoughts that overwhelmed him.  
She was everywhere, even when he was sitting on his bed, in a flat on the other side of town.  
It scared him how he would often be sitting on the couch and out of the corner of his eye he would see her blonde hair float in the breeze of the open window, but when he turned, saw nothing but the horrible nylon curtains flapping in the air.  
He'd shut his eyes against her crystal blue eyes only to see them burning bright in his dreams.  
The phone rang and Jonathan picked up the receiver with a shaky hand.  
"_Hello_" he answered, trying to remain calm but screaming and raging inside as he tried to control the whirlwind of his emotions, keeping his thoughts and feelings silent to everyone but himself.  
" _We would like to offer you the job_" the woman told him, after a few minutes of mind numbing small talk "_On a trail basis_" Jonathan could have cried,  
So this is what human joy felt like ?  
This is what working for something and getting it felt like ?  
He noted down every word she said, every detail of his new job and put the receiver down, grinning form ear to ear.

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**I apologies for this being as short as it is … I'm still getting back into the habit of writing, let me know what you think and also thinking that once I'm back into the habit of writing I might improve this.**


	7. The Past Meets The Future

**Hello, **  
**Thought I'd add this in to give you a little perspective. Hope you enjoy also, you may recognise some of the speech, none of it is mine and yeah, no infringement intended and all that jazz.**

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"_Late now I've missed it, midnight, Mickey's gonna be calling me and everything this is your fault!_" cried a girl, with a London twang to her voice. She hugged herself tightly, while marching off towards the flat her and her mother had lived in since she could remember.  
"_ No it's not it's Jimbo. He said he was gonna give us a lift and then he said his axel broke, I can't help it!_"  
"_Get rid of him mum he's useless!_" the girl demanded as her mother marched alongside her, trying desperately to keep up.  
"_Listen to you with a mechanic!_" the mother moaned and her daughter was almost inclined to stop and tell her mother what she really thought  
_at least Mickey could have fixed the axel had it broken.  
_"_Be fair though_" her mother began, slowing to a halt in the middle of the estate, the dark sky sprinkling their heads with snow. "_At my time of life I'm not gonna do much better_" she predicted, turning to face her daughter, who's hand was now on her shoulder.  
"_Don't be like that_" the girl replied, sincerity in her voice. She loved her mother dearly and found it hard to believe that there wasn't a man, somewhere in the world, who agreed with her.  
"_You never know, there could be someone out there_" she claimed, stroking wisps of her mothers hair out of her face.  
"_Maybe_" she replied, looking to the side "_One day_"  
Pushing her own misery about always being stuck with hopeless men aside, she turned to her daughter, who was smiling at her half hearted optimism  
"_Happy New Year_"  
"_Happy New Year !_"  
They held each other as only a mother and daughter can before parting their separate ways.  
"_Don't stay out all night_"  
"_Try and stop me_"

* * *

He was just another shadow after midnight on new years eve.  
Rose walked past him, as though he was a brick wall, his heart ached, to know that she didn't know who he was, that bonkers girl who saved his life in so many ways, she didn't even know his name. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through his body, he was running out of time, but he couldn't let the moment pass so easily.  
"_You aright mate ?_"  
It was the first time he'd seen her look directly at him and it broke his heart to see what she saw.  
_A Drunk from the pub nearby.  
_"_Yeah_" he replied, still trying to control the pain running though his body, to hold it off. _Five Minutes _he begged _Just five more minutes.  
_"_Too much to drink ?_" she asked him, he now looked at her, into her beautiful brown eyes, he could get lost in them so easily, but was very aware of her eyes, waiting for his response.  
"_Something like that_" he replied, casually, easing the pain, pulsing through his veins and fading.  
"_ Maybe it's time you went home_ " she suggested and he began to wonder whether she sensed that he was somehow important to her, or whether this was the Rose Tyler he never met. The one who stands in the middle of the snow on a cold night in January, talking to a shadow.  
"_Yeah_" he sighed, his eyes beginning to prick with unshed tears.  
"_ Anyway, happy new year_" she beamed, before walking off towards the flat she called home.  
"_ And you …_" he replied, but it went almost unheard by the disappearing figure in front of him. This couldn't be it, he had to give her something, some clue, something to keep her going, till he could get there and save her from her normal life.  
"_What year is this?_" he called and contained his laughter as Rose Tyler turned, a look of disbelief on her smiling face.  
"_Blimey! How much have you had ?_"  
"_Well .._" he breathed, not wanting to mislead her, but not daring to tell her the truth either.  
"_2005, January 1st_"  
"_2005_" he repeated, and she nodded, still arms wrapped around her waist for warmth.  
"_Tell you what_" he chocked, he couldn't believe that this was the very last time he'd see her face. He was letting go, something he never thought he could bring himself to do.  
"_ I bet you're gonna have a really great year_ "  
Rose smiled to herself  
"_Yeah ?_" she knew he was drunk, too drunk to remember the reason he started drinking, but she liked to believe he was speaking the truth.  
"_See ya'_" running inside, turning back while she was on the stairs to look at the shadow, staring back at her through the glass. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hand glow in the darkness and turned back, as she watched the man stagger off. She didn't stay long. _Did she really drink that much ?_

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**:3 Sooo fluffy :3**


	8. Too Late To Try

**Hello,  
I'm pleased to say that I have finally had some time, while snowed in, to write the next few chapters. I hope they were worth the wait. Please let me know what you think :).**

* * *

Rose was lost, but she knew where she was and that scared her. She had always been so objective, when she decided on something she seemed to switch everything else off and go full steam ahead in one direction, in pursuit of one goal.  
_Why had anything changed ? Why did she stall this time ? Why now, when it was so vital that she carried on?_  
She had been hanging around the market, after work for weeks now, unsure how to approach the situation, what to say, after all he had every right to be mad at her, she hadn't exactly been fair.  
She leaned over to look at her reflection in the water as a stone skimmed the water and distorted her reflection.  
_What was she to do?_

* * *

He had seen her.  
Not clearly and he could be mistaken but something told him that the blonde speck he saw, looking sadly at the river bellow, was in fact Rose Tyler and that worried him. Jonathan knew as well as anyone that Rose had no need to come to this area of town, it was on the opposite side of London to where she lived and worked, and although it was always possible that she simply liked looking at the reflections of the water from this, less than glamorous part of town , Jonathan had a feeling that there was something more to it and he couldn't resist finding out why.  
He quickly slipped on his trainers, abandoning the exam papers he promised he'd mark without a second thought, and walked down towards the river.  
Hoping that he was right and that Rose Tyler would be waiting for him on the bridge.  
Hoping that she would want him back.

* * *

Rose didn't see him at first, she was lost in her own head, the way she often was these days. She had no idea how long he had been looking at her across the bridge or how long he'd been leaning with her, looking at the water bellow.  
_"Penny for your thoughts"_ he suddenly said and Rose turned towards a voice so similar yet so different.  
His hair was still all over the place, just the way she remembered it but his face seemed older and the bags under his eyes were beginning to show. She looked into those eyes that so much had happened since they had been left together on Bad Wolf Bay.  
_Was it too late to turn back ?_  
_"Jonathan, I ...I"_  
_"We need to talk"_ he replied, gulping back the towering inferno of fear and uncertainty that he was struggling to contain . Rose simply nodded, unable to comprehend that she was finally speaking to Jonathan again, and he didn't seem mad at all.  
_"Come on"_ he said, inclining his head slightly_ " I don't live far from here and you look freezing"_

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**Look forward to seeing you all at the next chapter :). Let me know what you think :).**


	9. Second Chance

**Hello again.  
I won't waste time, I know you'll be wanting to just read this next chapter and not listen to me waffle on but I just want to say thank you to all the reviewers for their positive feedback and pointers :).**

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Jonathan didn't know what he was doing, taking her back to the flat to talk, she seemed a lot more pensive and sorrowful than when he last saw her and his resolve to be cold and neutral had broken in a second when he saw the hope in her eyes. She wanted him back, any fool could see that but Jonathan wouldn't, no, he couldn't allow himself to believe that, it would only end in heartbreak.  
Jonathan walked over to the windows, the large floor to ceiling windows in his rather drab and dreary flat, looking out not knowing what to say.  
"_I'm sorry_" she cried as she turned to face him, leaning against the island counter in his open plan kitchen "_I know it's far too late and if you say no then I've learnt my lesson and I ... I'll just have to live with it I guess, but I love you and it took you walking away to realise that we have come too far to turn back. We've seen too much together and experienced the most ..._"  
"_with him_" Jonathan replied bitterly, there was no point in beating around the bush and lying about it, no matter how much it hurt they both needed the truth and they both owed the other that, no matter what she had put him through or what she had suffered through his actions "_you saw those things with him not me_"  
"_Oh Jonathan_" she said, walking towards him and he just stayed, staring at the floor, inspecting the grains of wood, not trying to run as she held his hand and he turned to look at her "_Doctor you sound just like me_"  
"_What did you just call me?_"  
"_Doctor_" she repeated "_I called you Doctor, because you are, you may have one heart but that doesn't change you. You are still the person I fell in love with all those years ago and_ " she began to choke on her own tears and bit back the lump that was rising in her throat.  
She was too late, she had to be, there was no way he would wait this long, be treated like this and then run back to her. She moved away but he seemed to read her mind and grabbed her wrist as she made to turn away.  
He saw right through her like an open book, he saw things no one else would ever know and he knew, now more than ever that giving Rose a second chance was not a weakness, it was a command and it must be respected and obeyed.  
"_Rose. I would wait a thousand years for you_"  
It was the simplest thing he had ever said to Rose, no elaborate words or long winded speech because in the end that's never what love's about.  
Love is beyond the power of words, the power of any language in the galaxy and as Rose kissed him, with a longing and a passion that had since been dormant in her life, she knew that Love was the ability to speak without words.  
Love was a second chance.

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**Of course Jonathan and Rose would be together, it's impossible for them to survive alone, but their journey is not getting easier. After all the course of true love never did run smooth.**


	10. No Race Is Faultless

**Hello one and all,  
Thanks for reading and reviewing, means a lot and it would be nice if you could keep it up please. Thanks.**

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Six Months Later ...

He could feel the flames licking at his heels as the red grass burned beneath his feet and yet he felt nothing but the sweat pouring down his face.  
He had been chosen for this terrible task, to watch those he knew and loved call out to him  
_Theta.  
__Doctor.  
_He was held in place, forced to watch as familiar faces cried in agony and reached out towards him before they disintegrated into ash. In the blink of an eye he lost everything he had ever called his and he wanted nothing more than to join them in the consuming flames and end it.  
_"Stop this" _he cried _"I order you to stop"  
__"You did this" _came the familiar cackle of a foe he had never quite forgotten.  
_"You are the destroyer of worlds"  
__"John, Jonathan? Doctor wake up!"__  
_

* * *

_"If it isn't the she wolf herself"  
"Is She wolf seriously the best nickname you can think of ?!" _Rose asked raising an eyebrow as she closed the laboratory door behind her and sat next to Damon, who was staring intently down a microscope.  
Damon was one of the medical researchers in Torchwood, he was one of the best. He was also a humanoid, that was all that Rose knew, she didn't ask him anymore although she knew all of his details would be on a file in Torchwood, but part of her didn't care. Damon's race was not important to her, he was a good friend who could stop the pain that Jonathan was going through, that's all that mattered._  
"So why do you want to see me? They're not moving me again are they?" _he laughed, he had been moved from laboratory to laboratory, it felt a little bit like he was at home, travelling his planet, staring out of the window at the vast landscape that surrounded him, before the time scoop that lead to the death valleys._  
"It's about Jonathan, you do know about Jonathan right?" _Rose asked him, nervously.  
Damon had indeed heard of Jonathan, a genius who for some reason refused to join Torchwood_  
"He's a time lord metacrisis" he replied calmly "and he lives with you, that's all I know"  
"Well, he's ... he's been having nightmares, ever since he arrived and it's .. it's so horrible Damon" _she said with tears in his eyes and Damon watched with interest,_  
how could one man, one human, mean so much to the daughter of time, bad wolf?  
"I can't bare to see him that hurt anymore, he's paid the price for what he did and I want to help him. Only I don't know a time lord's biology and I know he's not a full time lord but I don't want to give him something without knowing"  
"You're very wise to do so" _Damon said, walking over to his desk and flicking through the diary on his notepad_  
"Does he know you're here?"  
"Yeah, he knows I'm coming to see you" _Rose replied, an uncertain smile creeping up on her, maybe there was a chance that she could_ 'make him better' _just as she'd promised._  
"I'd need to have a word with him, can you arrange for him to come in sometime"  
"Sure" _Rose said, collecting her things and beaming at him as she gave him a hug and almost skipped out of the room with glee.

Already Damon was miles away, thinking of the prospect that lay ahead.  
He was finally going to meet a Time Lord, all those years of unanswered questions and he was finally going to get the answers.

* * *

Jonathan would have run in the opposite direction had Rose not been tugging him along the street towards the Torchwood building.  
He knew he should really go along with it, after all, there was no doubt that his nightmares were affecting Rose and he wanted them to end, more for her sake than his own, so he didn't bother to fight, though his heart was still beating out of his chest and the fear in his face told a thousand horror stories of testing and torture.  
Rose pressed the button on the lift and squeezed his hand, sensing his tension._  
"You'll be fine" _she told him, with sympathy I her voice, she knew he had every right to be scared, but Torchwood had changed and she was sure that it would only take a few minutes of conversation with Damon till they were analysing samples together and getting on like a house on fire._  
"I hope you're right" _He replied as he attempted to steady his breath. The doors opened and Rose lead him to the door._  
"I won't be far away" _she told him, draping her arms over his shoulders_ "So you don't need to worry about anything, I'm here" _she told him, ruffling her fingers through his_ hair "Okay?" _

Damon saw the two of them kissing outside his office.  
There had been a time when he loved Rose, but her heart had always been his and Damon couldn't help but feel bitter._  
Why did she fall in love with a Time Lord? _

* * *

Jonathan walked through the door, he was not normally nervous, but he assumed that this was part of being human, the fluttering in his stomach, the feeling of being too warm and cold at once and the tension in his shoulders.  
_Was this normal? _  
_"You must be Jonathan?"_ said Damon as Jonathan fixed his eyed on the tall man, slumping over a desk of paper work.  
He had long black hair which hung over his eyes, his glasses perched on the edge of his nose and his slightly muscular figure and confident strut seemed to loom over Jonathan, this man looked strong and could probably crush him and break him completely in minutes.  
_"Yes"_ he replied, trying to hide the nervous quiver he'd developed in his voice _"Damon isn't it?"_  
_"Come have a seat"_ Damon said pointing to one of the stools near the workbench. Jonathan perched nervously on the seat, waiting for Damon to sit down him but he never did.  
Instead he paced the room, smiling to himself and laughing occasionally, making Jonathan feel quite nervous, but he daren't show it. That was the one thing you were taught as a soldier on Galifrey, never shoe fear, even as they were killing you, fear was an emotion that never existed. If only he could believe what the time lords had told him.  
_"Rose told me you've been having nightmares, what have they been about?"_  
_"Galifrey"_ he said, hoping that this Damon would simply leave it there, but the way he stopped and looked at Jonathan made him shut his eyes and relive the nightmares, giving him a list of the hideous events he had witnessed, the events he had caused  
_" The time war mainly and the genocide at the dalek crucible .."_  
_"The dark times ? the death valleys? the dark tower?"_ Damon asked, slamming his hands on the table, the vibration echoing down the corridor.  
Jonathan stood up abruptly, his eyebrows crossed as he tried to think of the possibilities  
_"How do you know that?!"_ he demanded as Damon simply smiled at him, his green eyes flashing red for a brief second  
_"I've lived in your shadow for too many years"_ he snarled, as the gun was raised from his pocket to Jonathan's head.  
This man didn't want to save Jonathan,  
He wanted his revenge.

* * *

**I think I'll leave it there, because one I love cliff hangers and two my train is about to come into the station. Please let me know what you think of it all. **


	11. Ghosts

**Hello everyone,  
Sorry for leaving you hanging, I genuinely wanted to write sooner but I had a mental block and needed a bit of time to work through it. Thankfully that's sorted now and I've finally managed to get the next chapter out.  
**

* * *

The gun shook in Damon's hands as he stared at Jonathan, his red fiery eyes burning with fury.  
_"You don't look like you're used to firing a gun "_ Jonathan said as he leaned against a table, staring down the barrel of a gun once more, trying to remember what the Doctor would do, how he would act ,what he would say, because he was never scared of a gun because there was always a second chance. Only this time there wasn't a second chance, this time he only had one heart, one life and one bullet could end it all, all far too easily.  
_"I don't, my race was peaceful till you forced us to fight"_  
_"Were you there?"_  
_"No"_ Damon replied, spit flying across the room like the venom of a deadly snake _"I was lucky, someone saved me and now I know why"_ the gun made that deafening click, all he had to do was pull the trigger and it would be over.  
Jonathan shut his eyes, waiting for the gunshot, the blood and the everlasting darkness that awaited him.

* * *

Rose seemed to appear out of nowhere, the door at the back of the room landing on the floor in a cloud of dust, which seemed to vibrate and took both Damon and Jonathan by surprise. Rose walked out of the dust cloud that had emerged from the fallen door , her face plain and emotionless as she held the gun in the direction of Damon's head.  
Now there were two lives at stake.  
_"Damon you're my best friend, but if you even think of pulling that trigger or doing anything to harm him, I won't hesitate to shoot"_ Rose looked up at Jonathan, who nodded at her, he seemed calmer than he had been on the CCTV camera, but Rose was certain that Damon wouldn't give up. Jonathan could still be taken from her, but if the idea scared her she never showed it.  
Jonathan had worked it out now, as Damon stared at her, his green eyes twinkling like emeralds. But she wouldn't be subdued that easily, she had made a promise and she wasn't going to break it for anyone.  
_"What colour are his eyes?"_ Jonathan asked, still tense, the gun still pointing at his head, even though Damon's eyes had turned on Rose.  
_"Green, Emerald Green why?"_  
and Jonathan began to smile, a strange sort of smile, relief seemed to wash over him and he was suddenly more relaxed, a lot more like the Doctor she fell in love with.  
_"Ahh I get it now"_ he muttered to himself, walking up to Damon, ignoring the gun in his hand _"You're in love with her"_  
_"What!?"_ Rose asked, still keeping the gun high, she knew all too well that she could never let her guard down, she'd watched too many people lose their lives because of it. Still she couldn't help but show the shock and confusion on her face  
_where did a confession like that come from.  
_Damon tensed and began to sweat as he looked at Jonathan. He'd figured it out, he didn't need to explain to Rose in order for him to understand.  
It was over. Finished and now he would be spending his life in a Torchwood cell with nothing to show for it.  
_" His eyes change colour when he sees you. It's like ..."_ Jonathan paused, struggling to find the right words for what he was trying to explain, Rose was far from stupid, but she wasn't a Time Lord either.  
_"It's like when you like someone, you start blushing and fumbling your words and you don't seem to be able to control it"_ Rose nodded as Jonathan walked up to her, Damon following him with the gun.  
_"Well his eyes are exactly the same, they change colour when they see someone they love, it's like that old phrase, what is it again?"_  
_"Putting your best foot forward?"_ Rose asked  
_"That's the one"_ Jonathan replied _"and while he's in this mood, shall we say, he cannot commit an act of violence. He cannot shoot me or harm me in anyway, until you want me to be dead"_ and now Rose understood his calm demeanour. Jonathan looked at her and they seemed to understand each other without words  
_My life's in your hands Rose Tyler and even though I trust you that doesn't mean I'm not terrified.  
_While Jonathan was looking at Rose he felt a gun pressed into his hand and Damon sank to his knees, his hands held high in the air  
_"Very well"_ he chocked, tears streaming down his cheeks _"You win"_

* * *

24 hours later...

The doors of the Torchwood holding cells opened and Jonathan's footsteps could be heard for miles. Many different species of many different shapes and sizes scuttled into corners, fearful of being seen by people that they knew within Torchwood. Jonathan gave them their discretion, looking instead at the numbers on their doors, rather than their faces. Rose hadn't told him about the cells and he couldn't help but shiver. It seems as though whatever planet you live on, _people are always afraid of what's different._  
Eventually he came to the cell he wanted, placed his hand on the lock and walked straight in.  
The cell was divided in two by a window of reinforced glass, Jonathan pulled out a stool from the corner of his side of the cell and sat down as Damon looked up at him as he walked over to the glass, filled with shame and grief.  
_"Damon, I want to ask you a few things, do you mind?"_ Damon looked at him, taken aback by his kindness. Damon could only bring himself to nod.  
_"How did you learn language, Rose said you could talk when you came to the planet, but your species is known not to have a fully developed language"_  
_"Been checking up on me, have we"_ Damon scoffed as he paced his side of the cell  
_"An explorer a long time ago came to the planet and stayed with us for a while. We ... We taught him how to survive in our climate and "_ Damon laughed and seemed to adopt a confident strut _"He said he quite liked me, reminded me of his son back home, so he taught me how to speak and I in turn taught the rest of them to talk, why is that of any relevance?"_  
But Damon saw how Jonathan's face had turned to ash, he knew the answer to the question he was going to ask, but none the less he needed to hear that name, just one more time, even if it killed him inside.  
_"What was this explorer's name?"_  
and the words erupted from Damon's mouth, a beautiful cacophony of sound that the human couldn't reproduce and Jonathan couldn't help but close his eyes and think of a face, a familiar yet so unfamiliar face.  
_His Father._

* * *

**Was going to write more on this chapter, but my train's just about to come into the station and besides, I don't usually write chapters this long, figured it would be nice not to give it all away at once. Please let me know what you think.**


	12. Sunny Days and New Beginings

**Hello everyone,  
Some of you may be a little confused if you've come back to this story and found that everything has changed. All I can say is sorry for confusing you, but I looked back at this fanfic a few months ago and realised that there was nowhere to really go with it. So I've done some editing, as you can see and I promise to keep the plot bunnies under control this time ;). Please enjoy and let me know what you think :)  
**

* * *

It had taken Rose a long time to forgive the Doctor, for leaving her without so much as a final word. She knew all too well that he hated goodbyes, but she always thought that they'd been through too much not to. But now, while sitting in the back of her father's jeep, with a suitcase of all her things in the back of the car and the summer breeze of London flowing through her fingers, she realised that goodbyes often made you more willing to stay and the Doctor knew, much better than she ever had, just how blissful moments like this would be for her.  
They pulled up at the familiar apartment block, surrounded by people going about their daily life, as she pressed the button on the door and her mother carried the suitcase from the car.  
"_Are you gonna let me in?_" she asked as soon as she heard the receiver click, didn't even bother to reply and simply let her in, with Jackie and Pete tailing on behind with her things. She almost danced up the stairs, the sunlight shining on her from open windows and as Jonathan stood in the hallway, looking at her running up the stairs bellow, he couldn't help but smile. A part of him couldn't help but think that a part of her was his now, she had chosen to stay and as Rose held him in her arms, a familiar whisper told him that that was never going to change.  
The bags and boxes were placed on the wooden floors as Rose showed Jackie around her new home and Jonathan made Pete a cup of coffee, while the women passed the time.  
"_Here_" Jonathan said, taking a small wad of notes, held together with an elastic band from the back of the bread bin "_I'm getting paid next week, so I'm afraid I still owe you for this place_" The wad of money made a silent thud as it landed on the table.  
"_You know you don't have to pay me?_" Pete told him, taking the money and placing in his back pocket. Jonathan pushed the coffee cup towards Pete as began to make his own.  
Rose and Jackie knew nothing about the money that Pete had given Jonathan, not that any of them would have cared in the slightest, but Pete understood that Jonathan wanted to gain something on his own, and if paying Pete back for something he would have done for free anyway, was his way of achieving that, he was more than happy to do that.  
Jackie smiled at them both as Jonathan carted Rose's things into his bedroom, except now nothing in this house was his. A year and a half ago, when he was reliant on everyone but himself, that would have upset him. But now the thought of sharing things with someone else filled him with a very strange excitment.  
Goodbyes were said and Rose watched her father's Jeep pull away from the curb and dodge the mid afternoon traffic. She looked at Jonathan, who was lying, casually on the sofa, and smiled.  
_Thank you Doctor._

* * *

**I am writing an M rated chapter, to follow this, so if you can I urge you to check it out. If you can't or don't want to, that's fine and don't worry, the plot will still make sense and when I get it up you can just go onto the next chapter and enjoy the rest of the story :).  
Thank you for reading.**


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